


The Third Elric

by VlaanderenVrij



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Angst, Gen, PTSD, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-05 03:19:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6687043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VlaanderenVrij/pseuds/VlaanderenVrij
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"A good friend of mine once said that war heroes are only mass murderers in peaceful times. She couldn't have been more right. War, war never changes and thanks to it, I will always be haunted in my sleep, hearing the screams and seeing the faces of the people I've killed over time. I tell myself over and over again I followed the orders I'd been given like a good soldier. Hell has a sport reserved for people just like me, and when I get there, I will be welcomed with open arms like an old friend. It strange how war can make a person become aware of where he resides on the scale of good and wrong"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been watching way to much Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and well... things popped into my head that needed to find its way onto digital paper. This will be an OC story. I know, not the most popular of fanfiction but it's what I do.
> 
> Any critque or review/comment would be much appreciated.
> 
> This story is about an OC of mine named Maikel Elric. He is the elder brother of Edward and Alphonse and is an officer in the military. Unlike his brothers Alchemy is not his main weapon, though the art does interest him, as it befits a true Elric. Togheter with he people that he cares about he must learn to overcome trauma and a troubled past, a past he recognizes he carries the blame for. He must learn to adjust and become a functional human being again, hoping to one day find peace in what he does.
> 
> Of course I can't just fully introduce him in the first chapter as more things come to light in the chapters to follow. Yet I feel like I do owe you the following. The story begins at the end of May 1910, shortly after Edward and All's attempt to bring their mother back to life. At that time Maikel is 19 years old and unaware of the things happening at the homefront.
> 
> Also if Maikel sounds a bit off to you, it shouldn't be. People in Amestris generally have names found within germanic languages. Maikel is the phonetic translation of Micheal in Dutch, which is indeed a germanic language if you didn't know, just like English. If it ends up bothering people too much I can still changed it to something else but I'd like to think it fits him just fine.
> 
> Now let me shut up and kickstart this damn thing. Have fun reading and please do leave your comments. They can only serve to make me or the story better.
> 
> Now let me shut up and kickstart this thing.

* * *

  
**THE THRID ELRIC**

**Chapter I**

**PROMISES**

**_"A good friend of mine once said that war heroes are only mass murderers in peaceful times. She couldn't have been more right. War, war never changes and thanks to it, I will always be haunted in my sleep, hearing the screams and seeing the faces of the people I've killed over time. I tell myself over and over again I followed the orders I'd been given like a good soldier. Hell has a sport reserved for people just like me, and when I get there, I will be welcomed with open arms like an old friend. It strange how war can make a person become aware of where he resides on the scale of good and wrong"  
_ **

* * *

_27th of August 1904, East Area, Resembool, age 14_

Maikel lifted his bag over his shoulders and walked out of his bedroom as early as possible. He wasn't in the mood for any drama and was hell bent on going forward with his plans, no matter how much his mother was against it.

Maikel gave his trusty bedroom one last look before closing the door behind him and finding his way down to the kitchen. He flinched when he found his mother already up, making breakfast like she always did, even those two brats he had to call brothers were up already. They were apparently waiting for him so they could send him off as a proper family. Trisha had gone behind his back and taken it upon herself to give her firstborn a proper farewell. He had actually intended to leave as early as possible to avoid this kind of emotional stuff, yet it was still felt heart-warming to know she still cared that much about him.

"Ah, you're finally up." Trisha said as she placed a plate of freshly baked bacon and eggs in front of his usual seat at the table, right next to where his father used to sit at the head. "Well don't just stand there, sit and eat." she urged him with the broadest smile possible, hiding her worry well.

 _"Guess there is no escaping it then."_ Maikel thought to himself as he sat down across from his brothers.

Edward was staring at him with that classic grumpy look of his that had become his trademark glare. Alphonse paid him not much attention and happily munched down on his food, like he always did. Maikel could tell Edward had some notion that not everything was in order there. He was the one that could figure things out like that in an instant. He was ahead of his age, no wonder considering he was so fascinated in Alchemy. Al was bright too, but he wasn't as good as Ed when it came to ascertaining there was tension in the air. Maikel guessed that was only normal taking into account he was a year down on Ed.

"Mike, where are you going?" Ed asked, using Maikel's common nickname around the household as he pointed at Maikel's duffelbag, which he had dumped at the door.

"I'm going away for a while." Maikel simply stated, not wanting to upset Alphonse.

"Where to?" Ed continued his quest for answers, and Maikel knew he wasn't going to back down. Giving up just wasn't in this young alchemist's vocabulary.

"Edward eat your breakfast." Trisha tried to get Edward eating again and focussing on something else then the emotional departure at hand, this however to no avail.

"Are you going to leave us, like _dad_?" Ed asked

"Ed, I'm going to a school, a school for soldiers." He tried to explain it to him in a way he could understand. "I'm going away for a short while to learn how to become a good soldier, but I'll be coming back after that." He added and Ed nodded his head in understanding.

At least Maikel hoped that was what he nodded for. This was going to be emotional as it was. No need to overcomplicate things.

Maikel ate the rest of his bacon and Trisah finally joined them, placing some sandwiches in front of Ed. She sat down at Hohenheim's spot at the head of the table right next to Maikel, something she never did, so in return he knew she was going to try and dissuade him one final time. She could not hide her worry as well any longer now that she was so close to him and could see every muscle in his face. Even if she tried her best to look happy for him, she was still being torn apart about seeing him go. Honestly what parent wouldn't be distraught to see their teenage child leave for four years, only to return as a grownup man, or perhaps in his case, in a wooden box.

"So... darling" she glanced from her sandwiches to him, her eyes watering up "I would be a terrible mother if I didn't ask you if this decision is really what you want." she opened and Maikel dropped the bacon in his hands to the plate, crossing his arms disgruntled.

"I knew it. This breakfast, the niceties, there was something hidden behind it!"

"I just want an honest answer out of you Mike. I do think I have that right as your mother. After all you need my permission to sign up."

"Yes mom..." He urged with all my breath. "I want this. I really want to go to the Central Academy. I love the peace and quiet here in Resembool, really I do, but I want to go out there and see our country. The army will let me do that. I'm failing at school anyway, and if I keep hanging out with those friends of mine, I'm going to end up doing something that I'll regret for the rest of my life. This opportunity will give me a chance of getting a good job that pays well, one that will give me an honest living compared to the stuff I've been pulling as of late. It'll only be four years anyway. That's nothing in a human's lifespan. I'll graduate when I'm eighteen. Only three or four percent graduate that young. You should view this as an honour for the family. People will start trusting us again."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I see that changing your mind won't work, so I'll try and learn to cope with your decision. It just hurts me to see you leave at such a young age. I had hoped to keep you with me until you were eighteen. If only daddy was here to talk to you about it."

"You know just as well as me that I don't fit here. I never have. I've always been an outcast. No words with dad could ever change that. He doesn't even care mother."

"Don't say that!" she snapped, quickly realizing her harsh tone. "It's just... with the uprising in Ishval and all... I don't want to lose you."

Maikel put his hand over hers and gave her a big and confident squeeze. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine. All you have to worry about are these two here." Maikel said as he nodded his head at the tykes sitting across from him. "Ishval will be done and dusted with soon. When the time comes for my graduation, our country will be once again at peace. Nothing is going to happen to me."

"You've always been very independent.... just.... just promise me you'll take care of your brothers if something happens to me." she gulped as she held back the tears.

"Oh mom, there is always dad. I'm sure that coward will come back to you. Besides, you are in the prime of your life. There is nothing going to happen to you." He munched down the last bits of his food. "But if it makes you feel any better; I promise to look after them if something were to happen to you." He vowed as he rose from his stool, looking at the clock above the stove. "Now, I need to get going or else I'm going to miss my train for East City, and per extension, my transition to Central." He added and Trisha got up quickly as well.

Trisha followed Maikel out with the two brats in tow, Alphonse mumbling half sentences.

"Mommy... where is big brother going?"

 Maikel grabbed his bag at the door and swung it over his shoulder. They walked towards the front door with each step becoming increasingly heavier for him. Before opening the door he turned around one final time and was caught unawares as Trisha flung herself at him, giving him a deep embrace as she bursted out in tears. Even at that young age he was already as tall as her.

"Just come back to us! I love you son!" Trisha sobbed and Maikel had to fight himself to keep his own tears at bay. He had imaged it to go a lot easier than this, especially considering the many harsh arguments they had at the time. It was in this moment he truly felt the love he always thought he had been denied, but it was too late. The die had been cast.

"I won't write." Maikel admitted as he hugged her back, digging his nose in her shoulder blade. "You know that's not my thing. You'll see me when you see me." He simply said as he fought hard against the tears.

"My boy, my beautiful baby boy..." she sputtered as she took a step to the side, giving Maikel a clear view of the brats he had been watching over ever since they had been born.

They were a troublesome duo when you let them out of your sight, and surely, Trisha was in for one hell of a ride without him watching over them whenever she would be doing chores around the house or leave to town for supplies.

Al looked really sad, as if Maikel was actually going to leave like their father had. In some ways to a little boy like him it must have looked exactly like that. Ed on the other hand had this angry glare spread over his face again. Maikel's earlier consolations hadn't put him at ease at all.

"All right brats, how about a hug?" Maikel asked as he crouched and held open his arms for them. They both walked into his embrace and Maikel hugged them both tightly. Al hugged his right arm back, but Ed was being very stiff on the left side, still glaring at him angrily. Maikel leaned to his side and whispered something in his ear. "Look after mom and Alphonse for me." He ruffled his hair, this much to Ed's annoyance, but his mood seemed a bit lightened due to this mission Maikel had entrusted upon him.

"I promise brother." he whispered back and Maikel was really satisfied to hear him respond in that way.

"Please don't go!" Al suddenly cried out as he finally grasped the meaning of what was happening, fear spreading over his face.

"I'm sorry Alphonse. I have to go." He tried to apologize, but Al wouldn't let go as Ed pushed himself out of the embrace and raced to his bedroom. Maikel looked up at his mother and she leaned down and picked up Alphonse on her arm. He continued to cry on her shoulder and Maikel didn't quite knew what the hell Ed was up to. He was making one hell of a ruckus over in his room.

"You okay in there, dear?" Trisha called out to him but no response came.

He ultimately came back with a piece of chalk, a piece of red cloth and a book. Edward started drawing something on the ground. He opened the book and started adjusted the transmutation circle to his liking, occasionally glancing to the book to see if he was doing it right. He then put the piece of red cloth in the middle of the centre, an old blanket it seemed. He put his hands on the edge of the doodle and it started glowing, blue sparks going everywhere. The fabric stretched and transmutated into a a red cloak with the same transmutation circle on the back in black that he had used to create it. It was beautifully done and you didn't even see it had been transmutated. The boy was talented, a far greater prodigy then Maikel would ever care to call himself.

Edward took it up from the floor and held the red cloak up upwards towards his elder brother, standing on his toes to seem taller.

"I made it too big so it will still fit as you grow." he explained and Maikel took it from his little hands with gratitude and dropped his duffle bag, swinging the cloak around him and came to the understanding it was indeed two sizes too big for him, but it fitted nonetheless and didn't drag over the floor.  
  
Edward could not yet realize how Maikel was going to cherish this as a precious memento.

"Thank you Edward, I really like it. Smart of you to put the transmutation on the back, but you know I can't do Alchemy. Still many thanks."

Maikel turned to look at his mother and found hersmiling at Edward's handy  work, her tears now drying. She loved that they had taken up alchemy. Maikel guessed it reminded her off Hohenheim. He put the bag over his shoulder again and gave her one final kiss on the cheek, Alphonse as well but he was still crying softly into her shoulder, so he caressed his hair on final time to make him feel it was him. This lightened him up a bit, but his eyes were still watery.

"I love you." Trisha said. "Make us proud."

"I love you too. I might not show it, but I really do. I promise I'll return and make you proud." He vowed and quickly turned on his heel, sprinting away from the house as fast as his legs could carry him. He couldn't hold back his tears any longer.

As Maikel ran down the dirt road that led up to his house he left a trail of teardrops and sprinted towards the train station with haste, wishing to leave his home behind him as fast as possible.

On the train he cried out his eyeballs like never beore, not caring about the people looking at him oddly.

If only he had known somehow, the horrors that would take place in that house. He would have never left in the first place.

...

_25th of May 1910, East Area, Eastern Command Headquarters, age 19_

Maikel Elric woke up with a ringing headache pounding in his head, the distant sound of typewriters not aiding him in the slights way. He had a view around his desk and noticed the stack of paperwork right in front of him hadn't disappeared yet, which was quite a disappointment. The headache was a result of his little night out the day before. He had been battling with the hangover ever since he woke up that morning, but nothing seemed to help. Aspirin, a cold shower, some filthy shake that was supposed to make things clearer, nothing did the trick. How naive of him to think a little nap was going to have any effect.

Maikel slapped himself for nodding off like this. He was supposed to set an example around here. He exhaled a deep sigh and opened the top drawer of his desk, finding the only family picture they had ever taken. In the frame Hohenheim was holding onto Edward with tears in his eyes while the little tyke was smiling broadly. Alphonse was just a little baby in Trisha's arm and seemed clueless to it all. Maikel stood in front of them with a brooding look on his face, his mother's free hand resting on his shoulder. She was so happy in this one and he smiled, remembering the moment well. She had wanted a family photo for some time, but Hohenheim would always find an excuse not to have to do it, until one day she trapped him by shoving Edward into his hands and having the photo taken by Pinako Rockbell.

_"Yeah, mom forced me as well. I hope she's still as happy today as she was back then."_

Maikel chuckled bemused at his hair in the picture. It was much long and  put in a ponytail that hung down to his shoulders, held together with a simple band, mirroring his father. At least in those days he still wanted to be just like him. When he entered the military he had it changed to an undercut style, shaved really short at the sides and a bit longer on the top, combed to the right and given a bit of volume with a hairdryer and some hair gel. It was a traditional military haircut trough and trough and it made most of his subordinates give him the respect he felt he deserved.

From the corner of his eye he spotted Private Renate approach his office inside the larger communal working room, entering after knocking and getting his approval. Maikel quickly closed the drawer back up and looked up at her with his right hand under his chin, pretending he was above it all.

"Yes, private?"

"Sir, I've just received a call from upstairs. Lieutenant Hawkeye says the Lieutenant Colonel wants to have a word with you." she announced and he sighed deeply.

"For the love of god!" Maikel cried out. "Can't that man go through one day without pestering me!" He put his head in his hands. Mustang had been a pain recently. "It's alright private." He waved her away "Please, take your leave." Renate left with a curt nod.

Maikel gathered his strength and got up from his comfortable leather chair that made him the king of this particular castle, but not without sighing deeply once more at the stack of work that was still waiting for him to be processed. He left the office and was welcomed by the sound typewriters rattling away like machineguns. He glanced at his subordinates typing away vigorously, no doubt preparing to stop for a convenient _coffee break_ once the door would close behind his backside. Honestly he could not blame them, but would be kind enough to make them work overtime for it.

"I will be leaving for a couple of minutes." He held up his finger warningly at all those women. "No.... breaks.... understood?"

As if that was ever going to work. Women have a mind of their own.

They all nodded like sheep and he left, making the long climb up the stairs to the Lieutenant Colonel's office.

Maikel had always been fairly good at paperwork and had a knack for numbers, which is a requirement if one tries his hand at Alchemy. Mathematics is an inherent part of the art and mastery of it is mandatory. This aided him to get a job under Roy Mustang who led the entire administrative division at Eastern Command Heaquarters.  
  
Maikel had been offered to lead the bookkeeping subdivision. Under him young privates, all of them women, worked the books for the entire military of this area of Amestris. They were nerds that barely could hold a weapon. How most of them had ever managed to pass the required 150/360 test score for military personnel to acquire a personal defence weapon was beyond him.

Maikel's department was regarded by most as one of the lowest in the building, but that didn't really deter to him because he knew better. Having been reduced to a pencil pusher was difficult, especialy for a trained scout-marksman. He was well aware that he was the guy who had to sign off on everything related to the budget, meaning Maikel Elric considered himself to be one of the most powerful men of Eastern Command. If another division needed something, money for a new acquisition, hiring new staff, an investment for a renovation, new vehicles, anything basically. It needed to pass by him first, and if the budget said no, then so did Maikel.

He and Mustang had been using his posting to perfection to put some of the higher brass in their rightful place. Yet Maikel had no quarrel to remind Mustang that he too, could not overspend, or he would be reminded for it just the same as the others.

Maikel was still recovering from the civil war in Ishval, so a posting behind a desk was perfect, even if that was not what he really wanted. He couldn't even lift his rifle up properly to his shoulder yet. Which was embarrassing, but at least now the recovery would be in peace and quiet, instead of some veteran's hospital at Central. The disability he carried basically rendered him useless as a soldier. He knew he could always try do something more with alchemy, which he kept in a secret small journal on him at all times, encoded like a true alchemist would. There was even more at his small apartment at headquarters. Yet he had decided against it. It would only get him in trouble for keeping something like that a secret. The military was very sensitive for things like that, not to mention it would compromise the true reason why he chose to be posted under Mustang in his home region.

Maikel marched through the hallways with his usual confident step that made his boots echo across the many hallways. He finally arrived at his destination and knocked on the door of the man he answered too, a man he had grown to respect and despise to a certain degree at the same time. Mustang was notorious amongst his underlings for being a good for nothing who slacked and has others do his work for him, something Maikel had grown accustomed too, but then again those are the perks when they call you the _hero of ishval_.

Overal there were not a lot of complaints he had against Mustang. The man had saved his life once and was giving him a reason to keep wearing the uniform. He considered himself indebted to him, a debt he had every intention of paying off one day. Yet he would not completly bend the knee until he was sure Mustang was the real deal.

"Enter." Mustang shot from the other side and Maikel entered, marching up to his desk, clacking his boots together and saluting.

"You summoned me, Lieutenant Colonel Mustang, sir?" Maikel condescendingly reported as he looked downward at Mustang.

The Lieutenant Colonel was sitting behind his desk with his hand clasped together, his usual arrogant and selfish grin spread across his lips.

"Yes Second Lieutenant Elric, it would appear I have some news for you." he said and Maikel shared a quick glance with First Lieutenant Hawkeye, Mustang's new personal assistant and bodyguard. Maikel and Hawkeye's eyes met and they exchanged a subtle nod that even Mustang wouldn't pick up on.

"Your promotion to First Lieutenant came through." Mustang explained as he placed the document at the edge of his desk.  
  
Maikel looked down and confirmed it's contents, the promotion had been approved by Lieutenant General Grumman.

_"All righty... seems like someone approves of my work here."_

"Thank you sir, I feel very honoured." Maikel said and wished to leave as fast as he had come, wanting to catch up on that stack of work waiting for him.

He leaned forward and motioned to pick up the piece of paper. Mustang however held the other edge firmly with the tip of his fingers, not allowing him to take it.

"There is more." Mustang  continued as he looked up and their eyes met.

Maikel let go of the paper and quirked a brow at Hawkeye, who came from behind the desk and handed him a damaged envelope. From the yellowish colour he could tell it was old, the stamps indicating it was from around late 1904. Some months after he had left home as a fourteen year old boy to enter the academy. He wanted to rip it open but Hawkeye stopped him as she gripped his left arm. He grinded his teeth as a small jolt of pain came from his shoulder. She noticed and let go.

"How long has it been since you were last home?" she asked and Maikel furrowed his brows in confusion. She bloody well knew the answer to that one.

"Five years and then some more." He replied and she turned the envelope around in his hands.

The address at the back indicated it came from Resembool, his home town, though the address itself wasn't that of his mother. This much to his surprise.

"This is from my neighbour." He remarked perplexed and tore it open.

He found a handwritten letter on the inside and quickly read its contents out loud, mostly because he noticed Hawkeye too longed to hear its contents, more for his sake then hers.

_Dear Maikel,_

_I hope you are doing well at the academy and find your life is fulfilling its potential as you had hoped it would. It however saddens me to have to inform you that your mother has recently passed away. There has been an outbreak here in Resembool and a couple of people have passed away thanks to the disease it spread. Your mother was sadly amongst them. You have my deepest sympathies._

_I also realize that you are still too young to care for your two brothers so I've decided to keep an eye on them myself. They've decided to stay in the Elric home and have done their best to adapt to the situation. They refuse to leave it as they still hope Hohenheim will come back. It's been so tough on them, and frankly, they could use your support. Edward doesn't show it but he's struggling a lot with her loss while Alphonse cries himself to sleep almost every night. Winry and I do our best to keep them socialized and encouraged to go to school._

_If you do not respond to this letter I will not pressurize you any further. I just felt it was my duty to inform you of her passing. I know your relationship with her had damped a bit towards your departure, but I know for a fact that she loved you dearly. She probably still does from where she is now. It is my deepest hope that you have not given up your love for her and the little ones either._

_Please do not abandon your brothers like your father has. They need you now, more than ever. Write to them and I am sure they'll have me write you back._

_Sincerely_

_Pinako Rockbell_

Maikel nearly fell over from emotions as his eyes re-read the letter over and over. He didn't know what he was feeling. He had been such a brat to her, and because he had broken his promise to return to them, now he had also broken his other promise of looking after his brothers. The letter had been written a long time ago after all. Rushing down there would solve nothing now. His eyes widened as a realization set in, a horrible truth coming to light.

_"I've become just like dad. Why? Why had I been such a troublesome child to handle? She loved me, and I didn't want to see it, because it didn't suit my needs. Most of her attention went to the little ones, but she tried to give me the same treatment. Fool...."_

He had never really seen it as jealously, but now that he knew she was gone, he finally came face to face with the hard facts. He had handled the situation selfishly, and now the law of equivalent exchange came to take another thing away from him.

They were her precious two little ones, while he was the older brother tasked with protecting them and what have you, so whenever they did something wrong, the blame fell to him for not watching them properly. If one gets scolded enough it becomes a point of annoyance at one point or another.

He had never felt real the same connection with Edward and Alphonse as they had with each other. He had always blamed it on the age gap, but now it would seem it was his selfish nature that had let to the somewhat distant relationship they shared. It was all his fault, the whole deal.

Then again, they were his brothers, men of his blood, and deep down he knew there had to be some kind attachmentfor them, even if it was scarce and he would be damned to show it. However with all the information he had, knowing Edwards temper, he would never be welcomed back wiht open arms, because he had become the verry image of Hohenheim.

Suddenly Maikel remembered something vital, the date stamps on the back. He gathered his emotions and pushed them out, finding his usual iron composure again, but the anger just swelled up and took over.

"Why-why is this reaching me now!? This is almost as old as my military career!" Maikel shouted angrily at Mustang, speaking complexly out of place, surprising Hawkeye in doing so. "This is an outrage!"

"Calm down Elric" Mustang ordered sternly. "Do not forget I am your senior officer, not your mailman." he added and Maikel fell backward in a chair across Mustang, Hawkeye quickly putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'll have you know you have my deepest condolences." Mustang sympathised as he realized niceties were perhaps not a thing to be used in that moment.

"Thank you sir, I'm sorry for speaking out of place. Now If you don't mind." he held up the letter, his eyes now red as he kept the waterworks at bay. "I'd still like some sort of explanation for this."

"This letter was found amongst other documents that had been stolen during an Ishvalan raid on one our armoured trains. This happened somewhere in the late summer of 1904. They took everything from military orders to personal correspondence and weapons. Now that the war is over a recovery team fround them in an abandoned Ishvallan camp that the engineers had been clearing for destruction. Frankly I have no idea why the Ishvalan people were holding onto such old correspondence for such a long time."

"I see, thank you for attempting to make sense of this, sir." Maikel said as he folded the letter back up and pushed it back into the envelope.

"Don't thank me Elric, the military is the one who sorted them out and personally delivered them to the recipients. This is just one of those things that landed on my desk and now I'm glad it's done. Although I must confess I did not think the content would hold such harsh news. I'm assuming you'll want to take some leave?" Mustang asked and quickly received his answer.

Maikel looked up at him with a straight face and shook his head confidently, wiping away the tears in his eyes with his black leather gloves.

"No sir, that won't be necessary."

Mustang quirked a brow in surprise. "But surely you would want to visit your brothers? To see if they are allright?" he announced slightly shocked

"No Lieutenant Colonel, I don't." Maikel replied cold as ice and stood up, pushing the envelope into one of his pockets along with his promotion document. "Now if you'll excuse me... I have other matters to attend to." He explained and moved towards door, leaving both Mustang and Hawkeye staring at each other bewilderd. 

He was behaving verry cold, even for their standards. Before he was out he leaned back into the office, his eyes now even more cold and distant, handing Mustang one final message.

"Oh and Lieutenant Colonel?"

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Sir, my subordinates tell me you've been overspending your budget again. Could you keep your research grant under control? I would hate to think what such a scandal would do to your imminent promotion to Colonel." He smirked wickedly, knowing he had struck gold against his superior officer.

Mustang's face turned red instantly and Maikel slammed the door behind him, not really knowing why the hell he had just said that, as if in that moment it was even remotely relevant. What point did it serve to take a dig at Mustang? Though the news he had received still saddened him deeply, there was this strange feeling that her death did not feel as shattering as it was supposed to feel, as if death had become something he had grown accustomed to.Now he had even more reason not to show his face around Resembool again, ever. Frankly he was ashamed of himself, but that was nothing new.

Mustang on the other waved furiously at his Lieutenant. "Go after him and find out if he is okay! I can't have him running the books if he crashes now!"

She nodded and quickly ran after Maikel, catching up with him right before he made the descent back to the main floor of the building. He heard a set of footsteps approach him from behind fast and grab onto my his left arm, again. She flipped him around as another jolt of pain come from his shoulder.

"What is your problem?" Hawkeye demanded and he furrowed my brows.

"What in god's name are you talking about woman?" He carresed his shoulder, now agitated. "You know not to touch me there!"

Now that he held equal rank to her, he no longer had to pretend she had any form of authority over him. So he set out to remind her of that right away.

"I'm talking about the letter in your pocket Mike!" She exclaimed as she pointed at the location of the piece of paper. "Doesn't it hurt you at all? You seem like you shrug it off that easily. Your mother has passed away, you do realize what that means, right?"

"War does that to a man Riza. I don't think I need to explain this one to you." he reminded her and her eyes widened. "Sure, I feel sad right now, and no doubt tonight when I visit the whorehouse, I'll drown myself in a bottle of fine alcohol to make me feel better about it all, but if you think there is anything in this world that will make me go back to the people I have already disappointed so much, you are dead wrong. There is no point in doing so!" he snapped angrily. "And by they way, none of this is your business!"

"You have fallen low." She said as she averted her gaze away. "What happened to you? When we were at the academy together all you could talk about was how you wanted to serve your country in a positive way. You wanted to work your way up and one day help make this nation a better place. You were just a boy back then, but you sounded so sincere when you spoke. I hardly recognize that in you these days. I can never tell if you are serious or not."

"I can't go back, Riza, not anymore. Not after Ishval." he held his head in shame. "Not after these hands..." He explained, holding up his gloved hands "... pulled the trigger on the lives of children.... _children,_ Riza.  I killed boys the same age as my brothers are now. Do you honnestly think I can look at them and take myself serious anymore?"

"I see... then..." she hesitated as her face grew sad.

He nudged her in the shoulder hard to make her look up at him.

"Spit it out! We didn't survive the academy and Ishmael together to be reduced to this, us bickering over what has been and what should be. We both know it was _you_ who made _him_..." He pointed his finger at Mustang's door in the distance. "... offer me this post, and I'm happy you did. Really I am grateful for it, but if this is you paying me back for happened in the past, then I don't want it. Nobody owes me anything.."

Suddenly she punched him across the face hard and he stumbled backwards, nearly losing his footing, barely holding onto a pipe that ran across the wall. To think he had once won a boxing championship at the Academy, and now he hadn't even seen her strike coming.... that's Riza Hawkeye for you in a nutshell.

"You think I did it for that!? I did it because we are friends!" she shouted loudly.

He brought his hand up to his nose and tasted the blood in the back of his mouth, seeing the red substance on the tips of his fingers.

"Well go fuck yourself!" He shouted back enraged as he held up his head to keep back the blood and stormed down the stairs, leaving her fuming.

"I see you are still very much capable of doing your job!" she screamed after him. "Don't come running to me if you mess up, you hear me Elric? Don't you even dare!"

She had gone too far this time, at least in his assessment of what just happend. What right did she have to go digging into his personal life when she had never even told him why she was so close to Mustang. She was well aware of his stance before engaging him in such a pointless argument. So what was the point? What had she hoped to achieve with it? Never before had he seen her that enraged, and never before had she snapped like that on him, but he would be damned to give her any assitance in the future. The next time Mutang wanted something, she would better be served to come down to his office and beg.

He descended the stairs and stormed to his office, kicking the door open violently to the communal working space. Immediately a couple of the women he had working under him jumped up and raced back to their seats and started typing away as if nothing had happend.  
  
Nobody seemed to notice their boss was bleeding and in need of medical assitance.

"Get back to work!" He roared with a muzzled voice.

They didn't even dare to look up at him. He ran into the office and stuffed two tissues up his nose and pressed hard to suppress the bleeding, leaning back into the comfort of the leather office chair, lifting his boots up onto the desk. This was the best position in order to keep the blood running into the right direction direction.

"Dammit Riza... that hurt."

He grabbed the frame he had been looking at earlier and stared for many minutes into her happy eyes, the dam of the waterworks having given way.

"Mom... I failed you... I'm so... so...so sorry."

That stack of paperwork never got finished that day because teardrops would only ruin them.


	2. Eye of the hawk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Maikel does his best to avoid Hawkeye and Mustang, he must endure trough some boring assignments. As he does he meets some new interesting characters.

 

* * *

**THE THRID ELRIC**

**Chapter II**

**EYE OF THE HAWK**

**_"A hero is somebody who is selfless, who is generous in spirit, who just tries to give back as much as possible and help people. A hero to me is someone who saves people and who really deeply cares. It's only a pity I've yet to find someone who fills this description"_ **

* * *

_12th of July 1910, East Area, Eastern Headquarters._

The newest batch of graduates from Central Academy had arrived at Eastern Headquarters. At the end of June they had all finished their final exams and received the go ahead to be posted to a military installation somewhere around the country. After carefully matching their results to a position of need the people at Central had shoved everyone on a train to their designated destination ions.

That day First Lieutenant Elric had the extreme displeasure of welcoming those new arrivals to Eastern Headquarters. Why did _he_ have to waste precious time on a task so boring? Because he was an idiot, that's why.

After his run-in with Hawkeye he had been stupid enough to request for some extra assignments as to avoid Hawkeye and Mustang as much as possible.

This was sadly one of those extra tasks and it was an absolute drag, but most of all a complete waste of time. Really, Grumman should be the one welcoming his newest troops as the highest in command, but as usual when it came to Eastern Headquarters, the task was shovelled from one desk to another until it landed on the lowest it could find. Sadly this particular honour had as such befallen Maikel.

The trucks had carried his new colleagues from the train station to the outside of the main gate. Now they were all poring in and linning up in front of him at the main steps of the entrance of the extravagant marble building that he called home.

He took a quick satisfied glance at the extra star on his shoulder marks. He still could not quite believe it. He was a first Lieutenant at age 20 with a chest full of citations that essentially made him a much respected veteran. Most of the people he was welcoming that day were around the same age. Talk about being lucky...

"Attention!" He announced without much interest but loud enough to make heads snap in his direction when most of the greenhorns had found their way onto the estate's grounds.

They all formed into perfect lines, placing their left arm on the person standing next to them to make sure they were perfectly straight. Once everyone was in position they replied to his call.

"Sir, yes, sir!" they all shouted in unison and clacked their boots together, saluting him with respect.

Maikel grinned at this and put his hands behind his back. The sound of a large amount of combat boots clacking together in unison never grew old. It was the most beautiful sound of obedience. The absolute reminder that the state now owned them, and could do with them as it saw fit.

"At ease." He said and everyone was permitted light movement. "My name is First Lieutenant Maikel Elric, and I am the head of the accountancy department here at Eastern Headquarters. On behalf of Lieutenant General Grumman it is my honour to welcome you to your first posting in the glorious State Military of Amestris."  
  
He started pacing from right to left, finding them no longer worthy of his gaze.

"East City has a long and uncontested tradition to be one of the finest military installation of our country. Especially when it comes to dealings which involve keeping the law and armed conflict. A fact probably not lost on anyone assembled here."

A flash of screams and blood appeared in the back of his mind, but he pushed it out fast. This was no time for such sentimental nonsense.  
  
"Every last one of you will be expected to keep our reputation in high regard. Do anything that compromises it's standing in Central and I assure you _will_ be put on the first train back to the shithole you came crawling out from four years ago."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Furthermore in light of events of recent years. It is no longer possible for any of you to look away from reality. The problems of our country are you problems and vice versa. The role of the military is rapidly evolving. Many of you will be tasked to maintain operations here at headquarters, some of you will participate in keeping the peace, others perhaps will be expected to gain experience in armed conflict if another war comes along. You will have the opportunity to serve your country in a time like none other. I hope that you will enjoy your stay here for as long as it lasts, for the former option of the things I mentioned is not something you want to be blessed with."

He stopped and glared at them with a condescending look, glancing up at the banner of Amestris as it dangled from the side of the building.

"You will all be expected to perform as your training dictates you should. Good soldiers follow orders, no matter the circumstances, no matter your moral obligations, no matter your naive conscience. Let that be what you'll remember me by if you never speak to me again."

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Very good, you're catching on quickly."

He pointed to the main entrance behind him, signalling it's importance for their next assignments.

"At the main desk there are assigned guides that will show you around headquarters and bring you to the correct officer you will be reporting too."

Most soldiers relaxed and prepared to move, but were quickly back in position when he spoke up again.

"However I have been given a list of people..." He pulled a piece of paper from his breast pocket and sighed deeply, a hint of frustration in his voice. ".... that will join me at the shooting range today. As it turns out the standards at the academy in Central have been dropping as of late. People that didn't pass the personal defence exam will have to qualify for it after all. This order comes directly from Lieutenant General Grumman. Everyone here carries a sidearm.... _even_ those of you who will be working a desk job."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Verry well... the following people will stay behind and come with me: Private Renilde Ackerman, Corporal Daniel Aldenberg, Corporal Nathan Fullcrum, Sergeant Jerome Cuypers and Warrant-Officer Vato Falman. The rest of you are dismissed. Welcome to East City."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

Most of them left their position and walked up the stairs to the main entrance, walking past him, leaving only the ones he had called for standing before him. From the smiles he was spotting he could tell this latest batch was expecting this posting to be all smiles and happiness. They would soon find out that boredom can become as poisonous as being stuck in a trench somewhere around the borders with the enemy countries that surrounded Amestris.

Suddenly he spotted a puff of smoke to his left. A young officer had lit up a cigarette and was puffing away as fast as possible before entering the building. He must have been around his twenties, tall and handsome with a good pluck of spiky blonde hair and blue eyes. Yet that cocky smile was already pissing Maikel off beyond measure.

That quick smoke was a mistake.

"Hey," Maikel called out to him, but the young officer didn't seem to pay attention. "I am talking to you blondie!"

The young man stopped brusquely and jumped to stand at attention.

"Sir?"  
  
"What do you think you are doing!?" Maikel demanded as he came face to face with him. "Name and rank. Now sunshine!"

"Warrant-Officer Jean Havoc, sir!"

"You've got to be one special case if you think you can smoke on the estate's grounds, Havoc."

"It's for my nerves, sir." Havoc explained, not even once thinking about putting the damned thing out on the spot.  
  
"I see." Maikel looked him over carefully, noticing the fool was grinning, if very slightly. "I've got a big shot over here." He sighed. "Just fucking swell..."

"That would be correct, Lieutenant Elric. I have the ambition to win many medals." his eyes darted to the citations on Maikel's chest. "Just like you, sir."

"Well.... my, my, a bigshot _and_ a hero. I've decided I like you already, Jean Havoc."

Maikel grinned back as he pulled Havoc's cigarette from his mouth, this to the young man's surprise, and gave it a good tug himself, blowing the smoke back into Havoc's face. Liking him was one thing, but Havoc had yet to show him anything of owrth.

"A word of advice though from someone who's been called a hero before. Be prepared to make sacrifices and never truly accept the title. You might find it becoming bitter on the tip of your tongue."

"That's a pessimist outlook on things." Havoc's grin got wider. "I think I've decided I like you too, sir."

"What's a glory hound like you doing here anyway? If you want medals I suggest you request a transfer to the Southern area stat. I hear our friends down there could use some help with the still-ongoing border war with Aerugo."

The suggestion was not to scare him. It was no secret the border war was still ravaging recruits at a rapid pace. Then it again it was the same for those Aerugoan bastards, so that particular status-quo remained safely intact for the rest of Amestris' security

"I will do everything it takes to make it big in the military sir, but I'm afraid my main interest lie with keeping the East secure and safe. This is where is was born, this is where I will fight if need be. When the civil war ripped through my town and caused a lot of damage I was still a helpless boy. I joined the army to help clean everything up and now four years later I'm in a position to do what needs to be done if my country needs me to do so. I won't let it happen again."

"Very well then, Warrant-Officer Havoc, join the rest of your classmates and let the guides take you to your posting."

"No need. I've been told to report to Lieutenant Hakweye. She's on the second floor, right?" Havoc asked, this much to Maikel's surprise.

"Yes, she is." he quirked a bemused brow. "So that means you'll be working for the Lieutenant Colonel." Maikel couldn't contain his smugness.

_"That means you'll be one of Mustang's slaves... oh boy, you're going to have so much fun."_

"A question sir. Who is this Lieutenant Colonel you are referring to?"

"That would be Lieutenant Colonel Mustang."

Havoc's eyes widened in shock. "Wait a second... you mean..."

"Yes Havoc, you'll be working for a State Alchemist. In your case, the Flame Alchemist. Also known as _The hero of Ishval._ "

Havoc slapped his hand against his temple and groaned. The dimples on his forehead instantly gave him ten years more in age.

"Just my luck. My first post and immediately thrown into the deep end."

"No complaining Warrant-Officer. You want some silverware on your chest? I assure you will have plenty of opportunities to show if you're worthy of them. Once in a while something exciting happens with the Lieutenant Colonel involved." He brushed past Havoc and showed him his backside. "Now get out of my sight, I have work to attend to."

"Yes sir." Havoc saluted and left to join the others.

Maikel tossed the cigarette he was still holding on the stone beneath his feet, stomping it out with his boot, leaving black burn marks on the white stone.

"All right maggots. We're going to the fire range. It's on the other side of the building."

...

He finally looked up from his papers and started pacing in front of the lined up men and women, constantly piercing into their eyes with a cold and hateful gaze. You could just about see them tense up every time their eyes met his.

"You are here because out of all the new arrivals, you suck the most. There is one of you who has managed to score a zero on this." he sighed deeply as there was some chuckling from the line. "I'm not kiding. It says right here." he tapped the clipboard with his right finger. "Private Ackerman, 0 out of 360. An outrage if you ask me. Please step forward Ackermann, whichever you are."

The girl stepped forward, barely eighteen years old with dark hair and blue eyes. She looked like she was about to piss herself, that's how nervous she was. How had she ever survived four years of verbal and metal abuse by the instructors?

"That would be me." she said cheekily as she held up her hand.

Maikel approached her and eyeballed her furiously. The others cringed up, thinking back to the countless times the drill sergeants chewed them out at the academy.

"I couldn't hear you sweetheart, speak up a bit louder if you don't wish my foot up your tiny asshole."

"That would be me lieutenant!" She screamed, trembling

"I see." He huffed unimpressed and looked over the rest of her scores, which were all fine.

Just when it came to holding a weapon she was helplessly inferior to the others. Must be painful if you have any ambition. If she qualified for it there was a slim chance a career could still be coming her way. These greenhorns should consider them happy Grumman had upped the requirements for service in the east. You could never be to certain with all those rumours about Ishvallen refugees hiding in the darkness. Desk job or not you needed to be prepared to defend yourself in case of an emergancy.

"Step forward and pick up a rifle." Maikel said as he waved his hand at the rifles and took a step to the side, pondering to himself how he was going to improve her skills.

She stepped forward and grabbed a rifle out of the rack. One of the new self-reloading rifles the military had produced for the civil war when it started back in 1901, commonly referred to by soldiers as the M52. It would never be the weapon of choice for Maikel. It was only good enough for common cannon fodder, at least that's how he felt about the weapon. She stepped on the mark in front of a couple of sandbags and put the rifle against her shoulder, staring down the sights at the targets placed at the 100-300 yards range.

He carefully studied her as she closed her eyes and lined up a target to her liking. Her breathing was already so erratic and nervous this could only go wrong. The fact he paced behind her to observe her was not helping.

_"Stance is good, but to nervous. She's closed her eye to focus with the other, but what's the point if your breathing so uneasy. Not to mention she had forgotten a vital step in the progress. No wonder she scored that low. If you pull that at the academy you fail the class instantly."_

"You may proceed when ready" He said when the wait became too long, urging her to get started, not that it would do her any good.

She pulled the trigger tentatively and there was a silent click. Some of her classmates dropped their heads in embarrassment. One even sighed in defeat.

"Not _again_." he sadly noted

"The safety is still on girl." Maikel condescendingly remarked with a bemused chuckle.

The nerves got the better of Ackerman and she held the rifle sideways, the muzzle now directed at Maikel's chest. As she fondled to flip the safety switch he ducked in fear for his own life. As icing on the cake she swung it towards her classmates as well and they all ran for cover in all directions.

"Guys help!" she exclaimed. "I can't get the stupid safety off!"

Maikel courageously rose to his feet and dashed forward, ducking when the barrel came his way again and ripped the riffle out of her  small hands, pushing her down to the ground with a loud and painful thumb.

"You useless idiot! Always keep your weapon pointed downrange, even when the goddamn safety is on!" He shouted as loud as possible, making spit fly everywhere.

She looked up at him with watery eyes and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was going to cry like a child on her first day of school. He swung the riffle around his back and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up on her feet.

"Why? Why would a stupid girl like you join the military?!" He yelled loud enough to make his voice echo on the artificial sand dunes of the shooting range.

She just started to cry and sob, a sight Maikel couldn't handle any longer. He'd seen many people cry before at the academy and also in ishval, but he never grew a stomach for it. It's not that he felt it to be a weakness. It just made him remember how embarrassing it was to cry himself, and boy had he cried a lot the past couple of months when no one was looking.  
  
"Get out of my sight you miserable worm!"

He was not in the mood for this. This assignment was his own fault, sure, but to make a woman cry was not in the job description. He handed her to a classmate, Sergeant Fullcrum, and told him to sit Ackerman down at a nearby concreted wall and give her some water from his canteen to steady her nerves.

This wasn't a good start to the exercise at all. He didn't really want to come off as a bully, but then again this exercise was being organised to make these soldiers better, and it was his responsibility to scold them when they messed up.

"Well that was rule number one twats. Always keep your weapon pointed downrange. Even when the fucking safety is on. Never forget that, ever. It is the fundamental rule of weapons safety." He said as he placed his hands behind his back, trying his best to find his iron composure.

"People this isn't alchemy or something. It isn't that difficult to master. None of you need to be pinpoint accurate. I'm not asking that from you, nor does the military. You need a score of around about 150 out of 360 to be allowed to carry a weapon, a pistol that is. Most of you have an average of about 100, so we are not that far off. It is my intent-"

A hand was raised and by a barely old enough boy over. The one that had the Warrant-Officer stripes.

"You have some balls interrupting me. What's your name, officer?"

"Warrant Officer Vato Falman, sir!" he replied.

Maikel looked for him in his papers, Looking everything over really fast and it dawned on him this guy was highly intelligent. Most of his exam results where almost perfect and it made him realize something. There was almost a 99 out of 100 on _everything_ with variations of minus one or two. This guy was playing a clever game, but Maikel recognised an outcast from a mile away. Nobody who can score that high would consistently miss two or three points. He had seen people just like Falman in the past. They couldn't cope with being called a bookworm or nerd, so they kept their numbers consistently lower.

A foolish method if you asked Maikel. Your classmates can always tell what kind of person you are. That's what happens when you spend four years together in close proximity. Yet outcasts were just the kind of people Maikel liked. They often made the best comrades Maikel had ever known.

"Tch... Falman huh? Tell me. Did you score less on your examination on purpose?"

The question seemed so unrelated to anything that everyone in the group eyeballed each other awkwardly, yet nobody seemed to find the courage to question his remarks.

"Sir?" Falman suddenly cringed nervously and Maikel came really close to his face.

"You purposely made errors so you wouldn't have the highest score. So people wouldn't accuse you of being a complete nerd. Admit to it and we shall continue."

Falman looked at his fellow classmates and started sweating. So many instructors had come and gone, none of them ever noticing his clever actions to save some dignity. Yet this one was on him in an instant, and he wasn't even an intructor.

Maikel circled around him, breathing into his neck."Don't lie Falman," he whispered into his ear. "I will know if you do. So don't even try me."

"Yes sir, I did it on purpose." Falman caved in too fast for Maike'ls likening, making some of Falman's peers giggle.

"Shut up snowflakes, you are all up next." He said and the giggling died down as fast as it had come.

Maikel looked at Falman and sighed. "Look Falman. I'll make this simple for you. From what I see right here there is a good chance you are going to be a high-up one day, but if you fail this-" He pointed at the range. "You'll never raise higher then where I am right now." he tapped his shoulder marks that made him a First Lieutenant.

"So... you dared to interrupt me. If you value your chances at a nice military career your question better catch my interest. Or else you will have my boot up your hairy asshole for the rest of your stay here at Eastern Headquarters."

What was it with him and shoving his foot up other people's rear-ends that day? He really needed to find a new catchphrase before it got old and people didn't abide by his authority anymore.

Falman seemed to swallow a lump in his throat. One of his classmates shook his head as to say not to do it. Yet the silver haired officer took the plunge anyway.

"I'm interested as to what _your_ score is sir."

Falman was lucky, because that was indeed an interesting question.

A smirk appeared on Maikel's face. "Is that so Falman?" he redirected himself at the others. "Would you all like a demonstration?"

"As long as it serves as a teaching method, sir." Falman smirked as well now, realizing he had not wronged his superior officer.

Normally Vato would never go outside of his manners, but this particular officer didn't seem like someone that would be offended by such a question, to the contrary. Lieutenant Elric seemed like someone that took pride in his work.

Maikel couldn't help but answer this challenge. Only problem tough was that ever since Ishval he hadn't lifted a rifle once.

Well... that's not entirely true.

He had tried and failed, so he hadn't attempted it again. He didn't know if he would be able to shoot straight enough with his shoulder still far removed from full recovery. He needed to be able to properly support the weapon. After all his left hand is supposed to be in contact with the wood. If it's not stable enough yet because of the constant pain in his shoulder, then it might just slip from the grip of his hand, embarrassing him in the process.

Yet it was so damn tempting to earn some damn respect from those greenhorns. He knew he had to skills to shut them up permanently.

Maikel decided this was the moment for him to get back on his horse so he pulled the rifle from his back and placed it into the rack and grabbed an older bolt action rifle with scope. He pulled the scope off since he didn't think he would need it for these short distances. His eyesight was still top-notch for the iron sights to be effective. He loaded the weapon with plenty of ammo and moved to stand into his familiar shooting stance, planting the butt stock against his right shoulder and got a feel for it.

That's when Maikel sadly and most embarrassingly noticed his left hand was shaking. The time was not right just yet. His nervous system hadn't fully adjusted to the new situation yet and couldn't handle this position.

He sighed and squeezed the frontal wood with his leather glove, suddenly feeling a burning gaze to his right. A quick glance over his shoulder revealed Riza Hawkeye was staring at him with a deadpanned look on her face. He hadn't even seen her approach the lesson.

This day was turning worse by the minute.

Her stare might have looked blank to a stranger, but Maikel could see the rage on the inside. The pure and utter disproval, disappointment even. She shook her head as to say not to do it. She was seriously against him trying.

He decided to cave in, because he trusted her judgement above anything else and lowered the rifle. It wouldn't win him anything if a new injury from the recoil ended up helping him back into the hospital.

"Sorry twats, as you can see, I'm not ready yet." he admitted embarrassed.

That's when he got the idea of the day. An idea so brilliant it made him feel all fuzzy on the inside. He smirked as he turned to face his friend.

"But First Lieutenant Hawkeye will be more than happy to show you what an Amestrian sniper is capable off."

He smugly held out the weapon towards her.

Hawkeye narrowed her eyes dangerously at him when she caught onto his challenge and stormed forward with haste, snatching the rifle out of his hands roughly. She pushed him to the side and placed a boot on the sandbags. She brought the rifle to its rightful position and without hesitation or regret she pulled back the trigger, nailing the first target right in the centre. One by one the targets fell over in rapid time as she aimed, shot and loaded with such determination and speed it dazzled everyone looking on. Once the last metal plate target dropped she pulled back the bolt and ejected the last cartridge.

She turned to him and pushed the weapon back into his hands, disappearing as fast as she had come without even finding him worthy of a look or a word.

Maikel put the butt stock on the ground and smiled as he smelled satisfactory at the smoke coming from the hot barrel. He took a long look at the range and started counting her handy work, but Falman finished the count before him.

"That-that's a perfect 360!" he exclaimed surprised as he blinked trough his squeaky eyes.

Maikel chuckled loudly. "That's Lieutenant Hawkeye for you. Never underestimate her. If any of you happen to get stationed under her, be very forewarned."

"You seem to know her well, sir." Falman said and Maikel instantly eyeballed him with a nasty glare.

"Unfortunately my level of acquaintance with Lieutenant Hawkeye is of no concern to you." Maikel huffed to shut him up.

He pushed Falman out of the way and pulled his 9mm Luger pistol out of the holster on the back of his belt. He too planted a boot on the sandbags like Hawkeye had, taking a side stance with a hand behind his back and aimed his weapon at the targets at the pistol range.

He pulled back the trigger confidently and blasted away at the targets. He didn't even us his left hand for support, shooting like high officers had back in the 1900's. The last bullet left the chamber and connected with the metal target, creating a ping that echoed across the entire range. The barrel was smoking and the joint from the toggle-lock action stood open like a bended knee, this much in comparison to the traditional slide action of the 45 caliber pistols used within the military. He reject the magazine and quickly reload, putting the weapon back into his holster.

At least he still had this if anyone dared to cross him the wrong way.

"Count Falman." He ordered and the Warrant-Officer looked through his binoculars, mumbling to himself as he counted the score.

"That's a 315! And with a pistol no less!"

"Good, class dismissed. We'll take this up again tomorrow when everyone has settled in at headquarters. Just make sure that idiot from earlier has her head unplugged from her ass." He said and most of the class left, but not without worried expressions on their face.

Falman was the only one that lingered about.

"Why are you still here Falman?" Maikel asked as he put the bolt action rifle Hawkeye had used back in the rack where it belonged.

"I couldn't help but notice your interest in me. It stood out from today's lesson."

"You didn't notice wrong," Maikel chuclked bemused. "You've got potential if you get past this last stumbeling block.

"Is that so, sir?"

"Yes, that's why starting tomorrow you'll be assigned to me as my adjutant. I can use a brain like yours down in accounting. You're going to be wasted at maintenance."

Falman's mouth fell open. "I'm assigned to maintenance?!"

"Yes, you're supposed to be their new clerk. Well fuck that shit. I have need for you. At least if you prove to be equally capable in real life as on paper."

"Understood sir! I won't disappoint you!" Falman exclaimed excited at this news and saluted him, turning on his heel an leaving with a large tread.

If there was one thing recent events had taught him, then it was that copying the way things were done around here was the best thing he could do. Having an underling that he could use to burden with tasks that bored him would prove to be an improvement. He had Mustang to thank for showing him how efficiently slacking off was done.

Maikel gave the rifle Hawkeye had used one final look and started laughing to himself as he walked away from the firing range.

"She still has it. Shame on me for even thinking she'd lost a step."

 


End file.
